Sweet Annoyances
by Queza De Santi
Summary: Riza's baking cookies. Christmas fic. Royai.


Title: **Sweet Annoyances**

Author: Kihana Dulay

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist

Pairing: Royai

Theme: Baked Goodies

Disclaimer: I do not own FMA nor any of the characters.

Word Count: 1 730

Date Finished: 24 December 2009

Note: This fic is for **daringscientive** on LJ, and although she claims I'm writing this for her because of the "we're related" advantage, I say it's just 'coz I'm a nice person. XD Haha, but **daringscientive**, I must admit I've also been a bit out of the loop regarding the Royai fandom. XP Still, I'll try my best. ;) Erm, forgive me for the OOC-ness. My muse was messing with me, it seems. -___-

[EDIT] I'm posting this here late, because I actually promised that I wouldn't post these till I finished all the Christmas fics I promised people. Although that didn't quite work out as planned. -___-

Summary: Riza's baking cookies.

It was the Christmas season again, and there was always a flurry of activity in Amestris this time of year. Even though a lot of changes had happened in the system of government within the past few months, the citizens prepared for the holidays just as they had in previous years. This was probably one reason why a certain blonde amber-eyed sniper was currently in her kitchen covered in sugar and flour, facing a battle she wasn't quite accustomed to.

Riza Hawkeye was hardly what people called a "girly" kind of girl. That is to say, she wasn't the type to be found at home knitting or outside gossiping with girl friends, as the stereotype of most women her age seemed to be. She worked in the military, after all, and she was their best sniper to boot. Besides which, it was no secret that she was in charge of keeping their office spic, span and 100% efficient throughout the year. So, if anyone saw the normally stoic lieutenant in her current state, they would be surprised indeed. But, she was on a mission. And if one thing could be said about Riza Hawkeye on a mission, it was that she always got it done.

The reason behind this amusing scenario is a bit of a laugh in itself. The main point is that Riza wasn't much of a shopper. Oh, she went out quite often to buy the essentials, and she could spend hours in a bookstore, though she didn't necessarily buy anything there. But when it came to buying anything else, she simply couldn't seem to pull it off. That was true most especially when it came to finding a gift. In theory, it was probably because she had a certain idea in mind for the "perfect" gift, and when she failed to find it, it was highly frustrating. So, with a holiday like Christmas around the corner and her need to have proper gifts for her officemates and friends, she settled on a meaningful enough gift that people were sure to like – you guessed it, baked goodies. You have to admit, after all, the way to man's heart is through his stomach, and most of the people she had to give gifts to were men, being in the profession that she was in.

So, here she was, baking gingerbread cookies. She wasn't a pro – hardly so, truth be told – but she could pull it off with the help of a recipe. And she had one, so it shouldn't turn out too bad. At least, that's what she tried to tell herself. Guns were her specialty, not this assortment of pots, pans and cooking utensils. But, she would rather shoot herself than be defeated by such a simple task. She immediately set to work.

It was a good thing she decided to work on this task on an office holiday. It took her almost the entire day to cook up a batch of cookies for each person in their unit, the Edward brothers and Winry, Maes and his family, as well her other friends from the various departments. She was tired no doubt, and not only was she covered in the sweet powders, but so was the entire kitchen, Hayate included. She sighed a bit to herself. Perhaps she should have asked Gracia for help, after all. At the very least, she would have had someone to talk to as she went about the work.

Speaking of talking, she only then realized how quiet the day had been. She was too busy to really pay attention to anything else, but as she looked outside her window at the darkening sky, she couldn't help but wonder what her Colonel had been up to the entire day. Usually, he'd come to bother her on holidays such as this one. Riza slowly placed the cookie sheet filled with gingerbread Christmas trees on top of the counter to cool as her mind wandered to her errant Colonel.

Roy Mustang was a powerful flame alchemist, a charismatic leader and a notorious playboy all in one handsome package. Hey, since she was thinking about him to herself, it couldn't hurt to admit that. Yes, he was handsome – very much so, in fact, that women literally fell at his feet. And to keep to his playboy image, he went on a date with one of these girls almost every day. But, in the office, the scenario was quite different.

The only reason Riza was seemingly in charge of running the office was because Roy was too laid back, and he would often find some way to ditch his work. It would take Riza many a bullet in his wall before he actually began to sign any of his reports. He was lazy and a slob, and much too arrogant for his own good. Yet, in spite of his arrogance, he'd often resort to whining and needling just to get out of his work. Very dignified indeed.

Despite all his flaws, Riza couldn't fathom what had possessed her when she fell in love with the dark-haired Colonel. While it was true she had known him when they were younger, it wasn't like he improved much since then. He was still a bit of a spoiled brat. But he was also very kind to her back then, and he kept her company and made her laugh when her father couldn't be bothered with even noticing he had a daughter. Still, there was no doubt in Riza's mind that Roy could be downright insufferable at times. So, why was she currently wondering where he was and why he hadn't come to bother her?

She sighed. It was better not to think about it. In the meantime, she needed to finish packing the cookies. She swiped her bangs away from her eyes and was just about to continue her task, when strong arms wrapped around her waist. Was she that lost in her thoughts a while ago that she didn't notice someone enter her house? She was about to utter a curse and attack the intruder, when the stranger chuckled and his warm breath tickled her ear.

"Did you know you're covered in flour, Riza?"

Riza's eyes widened as she spun around to face the very man she had been thinking about. "Roy! I-I mean, Colonel! What are you doing here?"

He let out another chuckle, "Roy is just fine, Riza."

She blushed a bit, "You didn't answer my question."

"You didn't answer mine either," Roy's lips quirked in a grin.

She rolled her eyes. What was she saying about him being insufferable? He had this annoying habit of avoiding her questions like he was doing right now.

"Yes, I _know_ I'm covered in flour, Roy. Now will you answer my question?" Riza sighed, exasperated.

"Don't I always come to visit you on office holidays?" was Roy's reply. "Don't you like me coming over?" he asked with mock hurt.

Riza wouldn't admit that she actually did like it when he came over. That would just add to his already inflated ego.

Roy didn't seem to be bothered when Riza didn't reply. Instead, he took to staring over her shoulder at her gingerbread cookies. "These look pretty good," he stated, surprised, and Riza wasn't sure if she should take that as a compliment or an insult. "Can I have one?"

"No." That didn't take much thought on her part.

He pouted, "Aw, c'mon, Riza. Pretty please?"

"No," she repeated again, this time turning back to her cookies and continuing to pack them in individual wrappers.

He remained silent for a while, and she wondered what was going through his head, when suddenly, his arms released her and a hand reached out to grab a cookie off the sheet. Just as she whirled around to retrieve the stolen piece, he already popped it into his mouth.

"Roy!" she screamed, frustrated, "I said no!"

He only gave a charming grin, "It's good! Thanks!"

She sighed. It was useless. There was just no winning against him.

"Aw, don't be mad, Riza. It's just a cookie. There are still a lot more, aren't there?" Roy tried to coax a smile out of the blonde woman.

When she still hadn't replied, he was seriously thinking that she might have been really mad about his behavior. "Riza?"

It came as a shock to him when she suddenly reached up and pulled his head in for a kiss. He was pretty sure his mind shut down at that point.

When she released him, his mind was only then starting to catch up with the recent events. She had kissed him. There wasn't technically any problem with that. The change of government left the fraternization law rather loose, so it wasn't like they'd get into trouble for having a relationship of any sort. What boggled his mind more was the fact that she'd even think of kissing him in the first place.

He opened and closed his mouth several times, unsure of what to say. Riza solved that problem for him.

"You're so infuriating! You keep bothering me like this, yet you go out on dates with every other girl on the street. And then, you have the gall to leave me to do all the work in the office. And despite all that, you still managed to make me fall in love with you! You put all these confusing thoughts and feelings in me, and you don't even care, do you!? Argh! You're so frustrating!" Riza ranted, her amber eyes blazing up at him.

For a moment, Roy had nothing to say to that. When it looked like Riza was about to start shouting again, he did the only thing that popped in his head – he kissed her again.

After a good minute or so of lip-mashing, he finally released her, the both of them panting. "But I do love you, Riza. I thought you didn't love _me_."

She blinked owlishly at him, processing what he just said. "You… love… me?"

He grinned at her again, "Yes, I do. I love you, Riza Hawkeye."

The smile she gave him was one he'd never seen before, but it made his heart skip a beat. "I love you too, Roy."

Somehow, this holiday wasn't turning out as annoying as Riza thought it was. In fact, it was quite sweet, and she was sure it could only get sweeter.


End file.
